Company Overview:
Zillow is a publicly-traded online real estate company based in Seattle, Washington. It is the largest American real estate website by traffic according to ComScore, Inc. In 2006, two former Microsoft employees were on a drive from California to Seattle when they came up with the idea of a website that would allow people to search for homes on the Internet. Zillow went public on June 25, 2011, and trades under the symbol “Z.com”. Zillow operates a full-stack website that offers real estate information including online listings of homes for sale and rent and tools such as mortgage calculators and home value estimators. Let us know ‘Zillow Swot Analysis & Competitors’.
Zillow Swot Analysis & Competitors
What is a SWOT analysis?
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis is a key strategic planning tool that helps identify the best combination of internal and external factors to help us set our objectives.
Company Strengths:
1. Large user base
Zillow has the largest user base of any U.S. real estate site, with more than 100 million monthly unique users, according to Experian Hitwise.
2. Good content
In addition to a large audience, Zillow also has good content on its site, which is important in the competitive real estate market. The company has made sure there is enough property data available for users to make informed decisions about buying or selling houses.
3. Sharp product development
Zillow is constantly adding more features to its site, which helps make it a good place to buy and sell houses.
4. Large reach
According to the “New York Times”, Zillow has about 1.5 million homes listed for sale throughout the U.S., with most of those being located in California, New York, Washington DC, and Florida. Zillow says there are about 15 million unique monthly visitors to its website in May 2013 alone, so the company has a very large audience for its real estate services.
5. Great leadership
Zillow claims that its products are an important part of the American housing market, and it is working to provide users with access to all of the tools they need to make informed decisions about buying or selling their homes.
Company Weaknesses:
1. Poor customer service
According to Zillow’s 2012 Customer Experience Index, Zillow has one of the lowest satisfaction rates among major real estate sites. In 2011, Zillow received a total of 6 complaints per 10,000 customers, ranking it 20th among more than 60 real estate sites reviewed by Consumer Reports Magazine. In 2013, Zillow improved its customer service somewhat by adding live chat support, but the company still needs to work on improving its reputation among users.
2. Complicated site
Zillow’s website is very cluttered, making it difficult for users to find real estate information they need. The site also lacks good search functionality; in fact, many real estate professionals say that using Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) instead of Zillow’s website is a better way to find information online.
3. Lack of revenue growth
According to Zillow, it is working to increase revenue growth, but its revenue has never exceeded operating expenses since the company was founded in 2005. Zillow’s 2012 annual report shows that revenues have remained flat at around $100 million since 2010.
4. Acquisition strategy
Zillow has acquired several companies recently, and it may be focusing more on growth through acquiring other real estate websites than on using its products and services. Since 2009, Zillow has acquired nine companies, making it a major player in the real estate industry.
5. Social media strategy
When Zillow went public in 2011, people criticized the company for failing to develop a good social media strategy. Many industry experts say that Zillow has a poor reputation in social media circles because of its lack of social responsiveness and engagement with customers via Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) (NASDAQ: TWTR), Twitter (NYSE: TWTR), and other channels.
Opportunities:
1. Increasing demand for real estate information
People are increasingly looking for ways to sell or buy homes online and use the Internet for their everyday lives. This means companies like Zillow will always have an opportunity to provide users with relevant information about real estate.
2. New product development
Zillow’s website is an important part of the American housing market and real estate industry. The company has a strong brand name and millions of users, so it can easily add more products or services to benefit users in the future.
3. Mobile presence
More than half of Zillow’s traffic comes from mobile devices, which means Zillow has a good opportunity to develop its mobile strategy for growth in the future. Mobile use of websites is on the rise, so real estate and other companies will have to rely on mobile access to keep their users satisfied.
4. Credibility
Realtors and other users have a poor opinion of Zillow’s website because of its poor reputation in social media circles. Zillow should work to improve this reputation by improving its social media strategies, or by making improvements to the product itself.
5. Strengthen brand power
Zillow has a strong brand name among consumers, which gives it a great opportunity to increase brand recognition among consumers and real estate agents. The CRISIL Consumer Confidence Index rates Zillow at 97 out of 100 among U.S.-based companies with the largest market caps, so it may be a good company to invest in for this reason alone.
Threats:
1. Advertising and marketing costs
Real estate companies that provide information such as Zillow have to spend a lot of money on advertising, but Zillow has not provided any information about its marketing strategies or its advertising budget. According to Statistica, it costs about $11.34 per visit for a website like Zillow to make a single sale, which means the company could lose money in the long term if it does not optimize this spending.
2. Regulations
Zillow may face some challenges in maintaining its position as one of the top real estate companies online because of various regulations that require real estate agents to disclose certain information online before they can sell houses.
3. Internet giants
Zillow is a member of at least three major Internet companies, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). If these companies exert too much control over Zillow’s products or services, it could reduce its business opportunities.
4. Government regulation
Zillow may face more challenges in the future from online advertising and marketing regulations, which could limit Zillow’s growth opportunities in the future.
5. Competition
The real estate industry is already dominated by primary players such as Keller Williams, Redfin, and Re/Max. These companies are also developing products or services that may be able to compete with Zillow if they choose to do so.
Zillow company competitors:
1. Trulia has many of the same features as Zillow, such as a mapping application that allows users to view details about homes for sale and rent within a certain radius from their location, as well as advanced search features for finding the best homes in the area by filters such as the number of rooms and number of bedrooms.
2. Realtor.com is a leading national real estate website. They mostly provide information on homes for sale and rent, but also offer a search tool for finding a home’s home value, leasing terms, and neighborhood information.
3. HotPads is similar to Zillow in that it provides real estate search tools for home sales and rentals, as well as the ability to find the best prices in an area by location.
4. BBBScout is a website that helps consumers find local businesses with ratings, reviews, maps, and directions to locations across the US.
5. Facebook is a social networking site that allows users to post information about homes for sale and rentals.
Conclusion:
As we can see, Zillow’s business practices are questionable and they have been involved in many lawsuits as well as ethical breaches. The future of Zillow does not look promising. It is bad news that Zillow is on this list. Hopefully, future changes will be made that help change the outcome of their company.
Some frequently asked questions and answers:
1. What does Zillow sell?
A. It is a real estate company that handles the purchase and sale of various residential properties.
2. How are they ranked in terms of revenue, profits, number of employees, etc.?
A. According to Forbes Magazine, Zillow is ranked at #802 on its list of America’s Largest Private Companies in the year 2015 with estimated revenue of over $210 million in 2014. The Zillow Group was founded in 2005 in Seattle Washington by Lloyd Frink, Rich Barton, and Rich Barton’s son Spencer Barton with an initial investment of $500,000 by the founders. The headquarters is located in Seattle Washington with offices across the United States.
3. What makes them better than other companies?
A. The company is not owned by a single person or group of people who have tried to earn money from it but rather by a group of individuals with different backgrounds and expertise. For instance, Lloyd Frink is from an engineering background whereas Rich Barton comes from a business background.
